C’River Gov’t Pledges Stronger Action Against Malnutrition
By Jessica Edet and Queen Reuben
The Cross River State Government has reiterated its determination to strengthen nutrition funding and address rising cases of malnutrition, pledging improved budget performance and stronger accountability in programme implementation.
This assurance was given by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, during a recent advocacy visit by members of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) and the State Committee on Food and Nutrition (SCFN) to his office at the Ministry of Health Complex, Calabar, on Monday, in Calabar.
Dr. Ayuk commended Governor Bassey Otu for what he described as a deliberate policy direction that has demonstrated “the willingness and capacity to fund nutrition and deliver good governance to the people of Cross River State.” He said the Governor’s leadership, particularly through the State Planning Commission which he chairs, has helped streamline policy coordination, reduce fragmentation of efforts, and focus government programmes on food security, poverty reduction, and improved health outcomes.
He further disclosed that out of ₦200 million allocated for nutrition in the 2025 budget, over ₦57 million had already been released within six months, a marked improvement compared to previous years when releases were as low as 10–12 percent. However, he cautioned that increased funding must go hand in hand with accountability. “As we advocate for better funding, we must also step up the advocacy for better utilization, because it is very fundamental. Whatever is released must be strictly used for the purpose it was meant for,” he stressed, adding that he would continue to push for 100 percent budget releases before the end of the fiscal year.
In his remarks, Chairman of the SCFN and Permanent Secretary of the State Planning Commission, Mr. Kingsley Ndem Eyibio, commended the governor’s policy framework on nutrition and urged all line Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to align with the State Planning Commission for proper coordination. According to him, this approach will reduce duplication of efforts, strengthen data sharing, and improve service delivery across the state’s nutrition programmes.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of CS-SUNN, Mr. Sunday Okoronkwo, acknowledged the state government’s progress, including the recent approval of six months paid maternity leave, but warned that malnutrition remained a pressing concern. He presented state data showing a rise in wasting from 5 percent to 5.6 percent and an alarming increase in underweight children from 11.6 percent to 16 percent, leaving more than 50,000 children at risk of severe malnutrition.
“Malnutrition is the underlying cause of nearly half of childhood deaths. Without timely and adequate funding, our interventions cannot meet the growing needs. We therefore call on the government to prioritize timely budget releases and also take advantage of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), which offers a one-to-one matching opportunity to double the state’s investment in essential commodities like Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS),” Okoronkwo urged.
Also speaking, the State Nutrition Officer and Secretary of the SCFN, Mrs. Nkem, thanked Dr. Ayuk for his consistent support and for championing extended maternity leave as a strategy to encourage exclusive breastfeeding. She, however, noted that procurement of nutrition commodities remained a challenge. “Most of what we use still comes from the Federal Ministry of Health. We need stronger state-level investment to ensure consistent availability of commodities for women and children. With government buy-in, Cross River can become one of the healthiest states by 2027,” she said.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Jonah Offor, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, who applauded the commissioner’s engagement and the advocacy efforts of CS-SUNN and SCFN. He charged all stakeholders to intensify efforts towards boosting nutrition funding and utilization, describing the session as “a turning point in the state’s nutrition response.”
In attendance were members of CS-SUNN, officials of the State Committee on Food and Nutrition, and directors from the Ministry of Health, including Mrs. Rosaline Oboje, Director of Nursing Services; Mr. Casmir Ugbong, Director of Health Research, Planning and Statistics; and Mr. Chris Ushuasung, Director of Human Resource for Health, among others.
